natural remedies

Plant-based healing methods

Natural remedies are treatments for illness or discomfort that don't involve synthetic drugs or conventional medicine—things like herbal teas, essential oils, honey for sore throats, or ginger for nausea.

The term often carries an implicit claim that what's "natural" is safer or gentler than pharmaceutical alternatives: She prefers natural remedies to prescription medications.

The phrase appears frequently in alternative health contexts, sometimes for approaches with scientific support, sometimes not.

Opposites
source/origin of treatment

natural remediessynthetic drugs

Artificially created psychoactive compounds

prescription drugs · pharmaceuticals · designer drugs · over-the-counter drugs · chemotherapy

medical legitimacy/system

natural remediesevidence-based medicine

Clinical care guided by research

intervention intensity

natural remediessurgery

Invasive medical procedure

chemotherapy · radiation therapy · aggressive treatment · intensive care · surgical intervention

Family

natural, nature, remedy, remedial

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Positive · Everyday, not technical · Rated G